Castello and Canna . . What??
After covering San Marco, we are now ready to explore the next district (districts actually) and we set off for Cannaregio and Castello. After passing through Piazza San Marco (sigh, life is rough) we emerge on to one of the most beautiful quays anywhere- Riva Degli Schiavoni. Here we find Venice’s oldest hotel, the Danieli. Standing on this quay is a little bit like a collision of the past and the present (actually where in Venice isn’t?), but you stand there watching people step into their gondolas and vaporettos to begin the work day and it hits you suddenly that you are standing in the footprints of Napoleon, Hemingway, Keats, and Byron (who used to swim the Grand Canal- not the whole thing I presume- every day. Definitely no something that woudl be recommended today thanks to the gift of modern day pollution.) If you look out at the water, to your right you can look and see a glimpse of the only gardens in Venice, courtesy of Napoleon himself.
Walking to the left takes you towards the working side of town. Here you find Venice’s Arsenale. In the 16Th century this was the largest shipyard in the world, employing more than 16,000 people and able to turn out a sea worthy vessel in 24 hours. Currently it is a center for marine technology and not open to the public.
Not far from this is the largest Gothic Basilica in Venice, Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Giving this former church it’s Basilica status is the foot of Saint Catherine of Siena. You can sit and enjoy the architects attention to detail from one of the many cafes that surround this historical monument.
Cannaregio has the dubious honor of being the very first city to create a Jewish ghetto. This was the very first city who restricted and set apart the Jewish population. There were many sanctions imposed upon this population, including how tall their buildings could be, curfews for when they were allowed out of their district, and the only two bridges in and out of this part of the district was guarded by armed Christian guards. The Jewish population was not funny emancipated until 1866.
In the early 19th century the neighboring Isola San Michele was turned into the cemetery island. The French regime dictated this as the practice of burying bodies under the church floors, or in the small island graveyards was considered unhygienic- they were also running out of floors to dig up. To be buried on San Michele, one has to be a Venetian, and even then, with limited space, your body will enjoy its private home for ten years, before its dug up and moved to the mainland proper- that is unless you enjoy an elite status, ike th epoet Ezra Pound who has the right to an eternal rest on this coveted piece of property.
One of the loveliest churches, and probably my favorite in Venice, was Santa Maria Miracoli. A favorite bridal chapel, this lovely little church enjoys its own distinction in the form of a miracle performing painting of the Virgin Mary and her child Jesus. Legend has it that a woman suffering a stab wound (why is it always a stabbing?) recovered in front of this painting, as did a man who drowned in one of the canals. Well the church was sufficiently impressed with this painting that they decided it was worthy of its own house, thus the Church of Santa Maria Miracoli. Not being a particularly religious person, I did find this to be a very peace inducing haven, and could quite happily have stayed there all day.
We did eventually make it back to our little abode and rested up for our next day’s adventure- the Island of Murano.
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